Neighborhood News
WWW.EBCA.ORG
Representing the 1200 households North of East-West Highway, South of Jones
Bridge Road, East of Wisconsin Avenue and West of Columbia Country Club.
MCPS Officials
Discuss Planning
By Ted Winstead
A spike in enrollment among
elementary schools in the
Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster has
prompted planning officials to
address what could be a long-term
shortage of space in the region.
Bruce Crispell and Frank Stetson
of the Montgomery County Public
Schools (MCPS) briefed residents
on the situation and answered
questions at an EBCA-sponsored
forum, held November 10th at the
Lynnbrook Recreation Center. The
EBCA Education Committee will
present an update on next steps
and results from our community
survey at the December 17th
General Membership meeting.
The officials emphasized what
has not changed: Parents will
continue to have the option of
selecting one of three elementary
schools—Bethesda, Chevy Chase,
and North Chevy Chase—for a
child who completes second grade
at Rosemary Hills Elementary
School.
But they also said that a decision
by the school superintendent to
end an “informal agreement”
allowing children in grades K-2 to
transfer into Bethesda Elementary
School is the current policy. The
decision was announced in a
memorandum dated July 29th.
As a result, the process for
transferring into Bethesda
Elementary School is now the same
as it is for transfers across
Montgomery County—a family has
to demonstrate a hardship.
Families with a first-grader or
second-grader at Bethesda
Elementary may be granted
transfers for a sibling, noted
Stetson, who is Community
Superintendent.
Over the course of an hour, the
officials described planned capacity
studies to assess the space
shortage and how these may lead
to changes in boundaries and
school assignments. Boundary
changes would likely take five
years to implement, even under the
most optimistic time frame. In the
mean time, trailers, or
relocatables, would be needed to
meet the increased demand for
space, because building additions
to schools takes three years.
The reassignment to Bradley
Hills Elementary of some families
in the western part of the
Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster area
was mentioned as part of a long-
term solution. The question of re-
opening Lynnbrook Elementary
School was raised, and this does
not appear to be under
consideration. Dr. Stetson pointed
out that the existing structure
would most likely have to be torn
down and built anew to meet
current regulations. It is more cost
effective to build additions onto
existing schools, he said.
More of this article is available
on our website, www.ebca.org.
DECEMBER 2008
President’s
Notebook
By Ilaya Hopkins, President
We’re halfway through our 2008-
2009 year and have already
accomplished so much. The
Education Committee and Chair
Monica Hayes has done a superb
job of being prepared for the school
district’s evaluation of the
overcrowded schools in our area,
including conducting a
neighborhood survey, hosting
school district officials in our
community and testifying at the
Board of Education public
hearings. Updates can be found on
our website, www.ebca.org, and
will be discussed at our meeting on
December 17th.
Coincidentally, November
marked a major milestone for the
Purple Line project as a series of
public hearings were held on the
draft Environmental Impact
Statement. EBCA remarks,
skillfully crafted by Vice President
David Saltzman, with input from a
number of neighbors, are available
on the website. This will also be a
topic of discussion at the December
17th meeting. Before we get to
business, though, we will continue
our tradition of hosting a cookie
exchange. Bring some of your
favorite homemade or store bought
treats to share and take a new mix
home. We will also be preparing
gifts for first responders. To help
with this effort, contact Tori Hall
at Victoria.Tori.Hall@gmail.com.
Continued on page 3...
 12/31/08 12/31/08

In the November issue, an incorrect expiration date

for Hollywood Tans was printed. We regret the error.

East Bethesda Citizens

Association, Inc.
PO Box 41020
Bethesda, MD 20824
www.ebca.org
Neighborhood News
Jay Briar, Editor
newsletter@ebca.org
Sponsorship, Vacant
sponsorship@ebca.org
PAGE 3 Neighborhood News
Membership
Corner
By Rebecca Fayed,
Membership Chair
The last 2008 EBCA General
Meeting is on December 17th and
there are many important issues
facing our community — the
Purple Line and our school
assignments just to name a few.
One of the many issues our
community is faced with likely is
very important to you.
Did you have a great time at the
Halloween Parade? The Labor Day
Picnic? Are you looking forward to
the holiday cookie exchange?
With all of these things in mind,
we hope that you will support our
neighborhood activities, this
newsletter and the neighborhood
activism that makes East Bethesda
one of the most desirable places to
live, invest and raise a family. All
you need to do is become a member
of the EBCA! On the back page of
this newsletter, there is a
membership coupon that tells you
just how to join.
As an EBCA member, you are
entitled to vote on the issues raised
at the EBCA general meetings, will
be kept up to date on the important
issues affecting our neighborhood,
and are encouraged to participate
in our numerous social events.
We will be publishing the names
of all members who have joined
since September 15, 2008 in our
next issue of this newsletter. In the
meantime, if you have questions
about membership, would like to
confirm whether you’ve paid your
dues or would like to volunteer to
be a part of the Membership
Committee, please contact Rebecca
Fayed by email at
membership@ebca.org or by phone
at 301-564-1499.
Neighborhood Roundup
Leggett Launches
Senior Website
County Executive Ike Leggett
launched a new County website
designed to provide easy access to
information on services offered for
seniors and their families at
www.montgomerycountymd.gov/
senior, offering information on
health, recreation, library, housing
and consumer resources provided
by the County and non-profit
partners.
Recycling Drop-Off
Residents can drop off and
recycle old electronic equipment
Sunday, December 14th from noon
to 4 p.m. at Walt Whitman High
School and sign up for a free raffle
organized by Bethesda Green for a
chance to win a new flat-screen TV
provided by Shady Grove Fertility
Center. You can drop off small
electronic appliances, calculators,
camcorders, CDs and floppy disks,
CD players, cell phones, computers
and computer-related products,
consumer electronics, copiers, cords
and cables (including chargers),
digital cameras, electronic
typewriters, fax machines,
microwave ovens, personal digital
assistant equipment, printers,
projection equipment, scanners,
telephones, small electronic toys,
TVs, and VCRs.
President’s Notebook
Continued from page 1...
East Bethesda is in the heart of a
vibrant residential and commercial
area. I know we all share the
gratitude and joy of being in such a
special community. To help EBCA
continue our work on behalf of the
neighborhood, please send in your
DEC 2008
Cookie Exchange
Join your East Bethesda
neighbors for EBCA's 2nd annual
Cookie Exchange and Share on
Wednesday, December 17th at 7:30
p.m., before the regular business
meeting begins. Please bring
enough cookies to swap with your
neighbors, plus extras to contribute
to several cookie trays that EBCA
will assemble and deliver to our
area fire station, rescue squad, and
police headquarters. EBCA will
provide the beverages for our
neighborhood social, plus the trays,
saran wrap and labels for the
cookies trays we will be donating.
This is a wonderful way to share
the holiday spirit with neighbors
and to show our police, EMTs and
firefighters how very thankful we
are for their dedicated service.
If you have questions, please
contact Tori Hall by phone at 301-
652-2969 or by email at
victoria.tori.hall@gmail.com.
A Short Newsletter
This month’s newsletter is only
four pages due to costs of
production. Help EBCA keep this
newsletter in production each
month and with space to provide
you with up to date information.
Renew your membership today and
encourage local businesses to
sponsor an issue.
$15 dues today. For membership
questions, contact Rebecca Fayed
at membership@ebca.org.
Thanks to our sponsors for this
issue: Razor Sharp, Hollywood
Tans, Suburban Hospital,
Strosneiders. We wish a happy
holiday season to you all. See you
in 2009!
 Advocate for the best schools for
East Bethesda! Become a
Upcoming Events
member of EBCA today! General Membership Meeting
Please support our neighborhood activities, this Wednesday, December 17th, 7:30 p.m.
newsletter, and the community activism that
makes East Bethesda one of the most desirable 7:30 Cookie Exchange Social
places in which to invest and raise a family. $15
per member, but additional contributions are 8:00 Education update
always welcome. 8:15 Purple Line update
8:30 Committee Reports
EBCA - Membership
P.O. Box 41020
8:40 Old Business
Bethesda, MD 20824 8:50 New Business
9:00 Adjourn
Members _____________________________________
Address _____________________________________
Phone _____________________________________
E-mail _____________________________________ Inside This Issue
Number of Members _____ x $15 each = $_____
Schools Meeting Report ........... 1
EBCA will not share your contact information with
anyone outside of the organization. Membership News.................... 3